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To Stalin Top Secret Summaries Of The most important testimonies Of Those arrested 1937‐ 1938A summary of the most important testimonies of those arrested by the GUGB of the NKVD of the USSR for February 21, 1938.
Archive: AP RF. F. 3. Op. 24. D. 405. L. 83‐96.
February 25, 1938
SECRETARY of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) comrade STALIN
I am sending you a summary of the most important testimonies of those arrested by the GUGB NKVD of the USSR for February 21, 1938.
Peopleʹs Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR General Commissar of State Security (EZHOV)
Top secret
For the 3rd DEPARTMENT
1. RYABENKY SA, Director of Scientific Research Institute No. 2 NKOP. Interrogated: VLASOV.
He showed that in 1911 he was the Menshevik Zionists VIGDORCHIK and UFRIKHTYCH in the mountains. Gomele was involved in the
Zionist party.
In 1915 he deserted from the tsarist army and, having received fictitious documents from UFRIKHTYCH, fled from Russia to Japan, and from there to America.
In America, in Daytrot, RYABENKY established contact with the Zionists and their leader, an emigrant from Russia, ROSENFELD.
In 1918, on behalf of the organization, he joined the Jewish Expeditionary Legion, which was headed under the leadership of the British intelligence agent Zionist Zhabotinsky to Egypt and Palestine.
RYABENKY, together with the legion, took an active part in suppressing the revolutionary movement in Egypt and Palestine.
In 1920, an agent of British intelligence ROSENFELD RYABENKY was involved in espionage work in favor of England and sent to the USSR on intelligence missions.
At the suggestion of ROSENFELD, RYABENKY in Gomel established contact with an agent of British intelligence, the Menshevik UFRIKHTYCH and, on his instructions, joined the All‐Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in 1921, and then crept into the organs of the Extraordinary Commission in order to provide appropriate services to the Mensheviks and Zionists.
From 1921 to 1929 RYABENKY systematically informed British intelligence about the situation in the CPSU (b), political sentiments in the country, as well as on the state of the textile industry. RYABENKY transferred all spy materials to UFRIKHTYCH, who sent them abroad through specially arrived agents of British intelligence.
In 1931, RYABENKY, the manager of the artificial fiber trust, KOSHKAREV (arrested), was involved in sabotage work. As the head of Permvolokostroy, RYABENKY disrupted this construction, causing material damage to the state about 30 million rubles.
In 1932, RYABENKY was involved in an anti‐Soviet sabotage organization in the military‐chemical industry by the deputy manager of the VKhTOP trust Kartsev (arrested) and, being the director of plant No. 102, on the instructions of Kartsev, carried out a sabotage to poison workers with mustard gas.
In 1933, KARTSEV RYABENKY was involved in espionage work for Germany. He did this work until 1937.
RYABENKY provided German intelligence with espionage data on the capacity of gunpowder production and data with the characteristics of production at Equipment Plant No. 15.
2. TISHAWER Heinz Teodorovich ‐ a native of Germany, without citizenship, a former member of the KKE. Prior to his arrest, an engineer at the Air Force Academy. Interrogated: REVZIN.
He testified that in 1931, while in Berlin, he received from Hans KIPPENBERGER, head of the intelligence and counter‐provocation department of the Central Committee of the KKE, the assignment to introduce an employee of this department, LOUI, to an officer of the political police ARIAN. TIMSHAUER introduced LOUIS to ARIAN, and after a short time ARIAN was recruited and subsequently carried out tasks of the political police.
In 1933, TIESCHAUER emigrated from Germany to France. In France, he was contacted by a German police and intelligence officer WILN. TISHHAUER carried out WILNʹs espionage assignments for Germany.
In 1936, TISHAUER left for the USSR and, on the instructions of VILNA, had to settle in some military industry enterprise, gain a strong position there as an engineer‐inventor, and only after that start espionage. To ensure against the failure of TISHAWERU, it is allegedly forbidden to carry out recruiting work until new directives are received through a signalman who was supposed to come to him from abroad.
3. OZOLIN Rudolf, director of Krasnopresnenskiy sugar refinery of the USSR Peopleʹs Commissariat for Food Industry. Interrogated: LUKHOVITSKY.
He testified that in 1935 he was recruited for espionage work in favor of Poland by the former director of the Odessa beet‐root trust, Pole SOBESSKY (convicted).
OZOLIN, from 1935 until the arrest of SOBESSKY, i.e. until the middle of 1937, he systematically transferred to SOBESSKY espionage materials about the amount of sugar mobilization stocks stored in warehouses. To obtain this information, SOBESSKY specially came to Moscow.
In addition, OZOLIN testified that in 1937 he was recruited by the former deputy head of the Sugar Industry Main Directorate SHINDEL (arrested) into the anti‐Soviet right‐wing organization that existed in Glavsakhar. On the instructions of this organization, OZOLIN deliberately accepted granulated sugar into the plant for processing in an amount exceeding the warehouse area of the plant. As a result, granulated sugar was stored in the open air, which caused a loss of sugar during 1937 of about 4,000 poods.
OZOLIN named the following members of the right‐wing organization that existed in Glavsakhar:
1) ODINTSOV ‐ head of Glavsakhar (not arrested).
2) SHINDEL ‐ former deputy chief of Glavsakhar (arrested).
3) ANTONOV ‐ former deputy chief of Glavsakhar (arrested).
4) TIRNIKOV ‐ former deputy chief of Glavsakhar (arrested).
For the 5th DEPARTMENT
1. KRIVORUCHKO, deputy. commander of the KVO. Interrogated: USHAKOV.
During the first interrogation, KRIVORUCHKO admitted his participation in an anti‐Soviet military conspiracy and in a counterrevolutionary Ukrainian nationalist organization. In the anti‐Soviet conspiracy he was recruited by Yakir in 1930, and in the counterrevolutionary Ukrainian nationalist organization LYUBCHENKO
P.P. in 1935.
When recruiting KRIVORUCHKO to the counter‐revolutionary Ukrainian nationalist organization, LYUBCHENKO told him that
Ukrainians should first of all take care of their own affairs ‐ the creation of an independent Ukrainian republic.
From a number of persons recruited into the conspiracy by KRIVORUCHKO, he named the former commander of the 3rd cavalry division MISHUK (arrested), RACHKOVSKY ‐ the former commissar of the 16th cavalry regiment (arrested) and Zhakhmatov ‐ the commander of the 14th cavalry regiment (not arrested).
2. BELOV , former commander of the BVO troops. Interrogated by:
YAMNITSKII, KAZAKEVICH.
addition, he testified that before leaving for Berlin to study in 1930, he met with Boris IVANOV (arrested), a member of the military Socialist‐Revolutionary organization, through whom he, BELOV, was associated with British intelligence. IVANOV warned BELOV that a representative of British intelligence would contact him in Berlin.
In November 1930, an English intelligence officer who identified himself as ʺRYBAKOVʺ came to BELOVʹs apartment in Berlin and contacted with an agreed password.
ʺRYBAKOVʺ questioned BELOV in detail on a number of issues related to the activities of the military SR organization in the USSR, on the state of the Red Army and on other issues.
BELOV said, first orally and then in writing, that the military SR organization was gathering SR cadres in the Red Army as an organizational base for the preparation of an anti‐Soviet armed coup, and was taking measures to prepare a bloc with right‐wing and other anti‐Soviet groups in the country.
BELOV also reported that the situation in the USSR as a result of collectivization has become extremely aggravated and the SocialistRevolutionary military and civilian centers are counting on further aggravation and the creation of conditions for a coup. He illustrated his information with a story about uprisings and sabotage in the North Caucasus.
BELOV posed to the British the question of the possibility of armed support by the British or their allies in the event of an uprising. He further informed Rybakov about the relations between the USSR and Germany, pointing out that a number of major commanders “bow down” to the Germans and that the closest relations were being established with the Reichswehr and the Red Army. In particular, in the USSR, the Germans have training bases for aviators and tankers, and there is a mutual exchange of experience in combat training and even intelligence materials. BELOV pointed out that the military‐SocialistRevolutionary organization is fighting against German influence in the
Red Army.
BELOV said further that the Red Army is increasing in number and technically beginning to rearm, but the difficult mood of the village is reflected in the morale and political state of the army.
ʺRYBAKOVʺ suggested to Belov to expand recruiting work more widely, to rally the entire anti‐Soviet element in the army and to fight against German influence on the Soviet command. He pointed out to BELOV that he had met with him on the instructions of the management of Intelligence‐Service, since the latter considers it necessary to establish personal contact with one of the leaders of the military‐Socialist‐Revolutionary organization ‐ a “major Soviet general” ‐ and to hear from him personally an assessment of the situation in the Red Army and in the country as a whole. BELOV will report in detail on questions of interest to the British upon his return to the USSR through the same IVANOV.
ʺRYBAKOVʺ invited BELOV to continue to report on the situation in the Red Army, not only in terms of its combat capability, but also on the groups that are emerging among the top command personnel, on their relationships, in particular, on the groups of Tukhachevsky, Yakir, GAMARNIK, as well as BLUKHERʹs personal characteristics, EGOROV, BUDENNY and the Peopleʹs Commissar of Defense VOROSHILOV.
ʺRYBAKOVʺ instructed Belov to send his espionage information to the
Red Army, indicating that the British were especially interested in Leningrad, the Baltic Fleet, the state of the air defense, aviation, tanks and chemistry.
BELOV, in general terms, guided RYBAKOV on all these issues, having given an obligation upon his return to the USSR to follow the instructions of the British, backing up his data with documents.
In conclusion, ʺRYBAKOVʺ promised to fulfill BELOVʹs request to provide material assistance to TCH ‐ Maslov.
3. UDRIS, Head of the 2nd Department of the Research Chemical
Institute of the Red Army. Interrogated: DMITRIEV.
the initial testimony, he confessed to his participation in the militaryfascist conspiracy and the sabotage activities carried out by him in the field of military chemistry of the Red Army. In the conspiracy, UDRIS was recruited in 1934 by the former head of the Chemical Administration of the Red Army FISHMAN. Initially, FISHMAN suggested that UDRIS unquestioningly carry out all his, FISHMANʹs, orders, and later directly put before him the question of his participation in the conspiracy.
On the instructions of FISHMAN, Udris carried out sabotage work in research work in the field of chemical warfare agents, delayed tests and thwarted actual research work to find new OBs. Deliberately created a gap between scientific research work and issues of combat use and the development of chemical weapons tactics. With the goal of leaving the army unprepared for the use of chemical warfare in the event of a war, UDRIS sabotaged and slowed down the pace in resolving new problems of chemical weapons of the Red Army.
The interrogation continues.
4. ZHUKOVSKY, engineer of the artillery department of the Red Army. Interrogated: BORODULIN.
He confessed to being an agent of French intelligence since 1928. For espionage work, he was recruited by a French intelligence spy, a former engineer of the acid committee EGIZOM (arrested), to whom he transmitted information about the state of the gunpowder industry in the USSR.
In addition, ZHUKOVSKY testified that in 1936 he was recruited by the former head of the Scientific and Technical Department of the AU of the Red Army ZHELEZNYAKOV (arrested) into a fascist military conspiracy and, on his instructions, carried out sabotage work in the Artillery Directorate of the Red Army. ZHUKOVSKY also testified that from 1918 to 1924 he was a member of the monarchist organization in the Artillery Directorate, to which he was recruited by the former head of the Artillery Directorate MIKHAILOV (repressed).
5. TOMASHEVSKY, head of the research department of the Military Transport Academy of the Red Army. Interrogated: SOLOVIEV.
He confessed to participating in an anti‐Soviet military conspiracy, into which he was recruited by APPOGO (convicted) in 1934. At the same time, the APPOGA named him the following participants in the conspiracy:
1) Head of the VTA research department, military engineer 1st rank Nagradsky Leonid Vasilyevich (arrested);
2) Alfred Khristoforovich, Assistant Chief of the Military Transport Agency, brigade engineer of GRUZDUPA (arrested);
3) Georgy Emilievich, Head of the Training Department of the Military Technical Administration, military engineer of the 1st rank of KUNI (arrested);
4) Head of the Faculty of Military Technical Administration, Colonel DMITRIEV Fyodor Kuzmich (arrested);
5) Assistant to the chief of the 3rd department of the headquarters of the Red Army, brigade commander Leonid Ivanovich Konovalov
(arrested).
On the instructions of APPOGI, TOMASHEVSKY carried out sabotage work at the Academy.
In 1934‐1935. he delayed the design of a track evacuator for evacuating rails and fastening railway tracks, according to the 1936 plan, he thwarted the development of a number of topical, defense‐related topics (the work of the NVR headquarters, the project of a mobile cold asphalt plant, etc.) and deliberately did not include these topics in the 1937 plan. Together with GRUZDUP TOMASHEVSKY, he drew up a sabotage plan for research work for 1937.
In order to reduce the entire research work of the Academy TOMASHEVSKY and GRUZDUP, the authorʹs fee for research work in the amount of about 30,000 rubles was excluded from the 1937 estimate. order to sabotage them, the following topics were not included in the 1937 plan: mechanization of earthworks during the restoration of railways, restoration of railway work in winter conditions, mechanization of laying railway tracks at a speed of 30‐35 kilometers per day, and others.
The interrogation continues.
6. MALAKHOVSKY, former inspector of PVHO TsS
Osoaviakhim. Interrogated: PETERS, KAPLAN.
He confessed to spying for Germany and participating in the officersʹ monarchist organization. He additionally testified that in 1927 he learned from a former White Guard officer KRAYEVSKY (not arrested) about the existence in Moscow of a second monarchist organization, consisting mainly of former Guards officers who served in the Warsaw garrison, associated with Polish intelligence in the person of the former Polish military attaché KOVALEVSKY ( a former officer of the tsarist army, who had extensive acquaintances in Moscow among former officers).
Being in 1931, among the majority of the members of the officersʹ organization, was arrested by the NKVD and soon released, MALAKHOVSKY, on the instructions of NARAVAL (a former Austrian officer, convicted), through whom he was associated with German intelligence, entered this organization through KRAYEVSKY, whose members were former guards officers : Popov V.V., former teacher of the Engineering Academy (arrested), LOZOVSKY ‐ teacher of the Academy. Frunze (not arrested), HERBERT AB ‐ teacher at the Transport Academy (not arrested), KLEIGELS ‐ NKVD officer (to be established), TRETYAKOV ‐ employee of the Institute of Local History (not arrested).
For the 6th DEPARTMENT
1. KASATKIN, head of the capital construction department of the Central Traffic Administration of the NKPS. Interrogated: NASEDKIN.
KASATKIN began to testify about belonging to an anti‐Soviet rightTrotskyist organization in the NKPS and sabotage work in transport. He testified that he was recruited into an anti‐Soviet organization by POSTNIKOV, a former deputy. Peopleʹs Commissariat for Road (convicted).
On the instructions of POSTNIKOV, BELIK and Nekrytoy (former deputy head of the central traffic department) KASATKIN carried out sabotage work in the development of railway stations in order to reduce their capacity. Conducted subversive work in the field of construction and reconstruction of mechanized slides, centralization of arrows. In order to deaden the funds for investment, he spent large sums of money on the construction of unnecessary facilities. Along with this, he disrupted the implementation of the plan for capital construction. In his testimony, KASATKIN named a number of members of the Pravotrotskyist organization in the NKPS, including KRASNOLUTSKY ‐ his former deputy (arrested), PETROV, who works at the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers; KROL ‐ senior engineer of the central planning department of the Peopleʹs Commissariat of Railways, GOLONSKY ‐ a former employee of the central communications department, BENESHEVICH ‐ an employee of Signalsvyazproekt, and KOVRIGI ‐ Art. engineer of the department of capital construction.
KASATKIN was personally connected with all these persons. Their arrest is being prepared.
The interrogation of Kasatkin continues.
2. BERNARD, head of the regulatory research station of the Soyuzekskavatsiya trust, NKTP, a former large landowner, nobleman. Interrogated: OSMOLOVSKY.
BERNARD began to testify that since 1917 he has been actively fighting the Soviet regime, being a member of a number of sabotages, espionage and terrorist White Guard officersʹ organizations.
From 1918 to 1921, BERNARD was a member of the White Guard organization that was preparing an armed uprising; as a member of this organization, in 1920, he helped legalize Colonel LEONTIEV in Moscow, who was thrown across the front by Yudenich for sabotage and espionage work. From 1922 to 1924, BERNARD was a member of
the terrorist White Guard officersʹ organization that existed in Moscow at that time, headed by the son of Count BENKENDORF, the former tsarist ambassador to England. Later, this organization was headed by the former colonel of the White Army KARPENKO (he was shot in 1927 after the murder of Voikov).
In 1926, BERNARD arranged a meeting between KARPENKO and HODGSON, the former British ambassador to Moscow, who expected to use KARPENKO for espionage purposes.
In the period from 1929 to 1934, BERNARD worked at Turksib, where he was a member of the White Guard organization, headed by a former white officer Ustyuzhskiy.
From Turksib, BERNARD moved to Chita, where he contacted a former officer of Kolchakʹs army GOLOVIN, an agent of Japanese intelligence, and together with him created a White Guard‐kulak sabotage group there. Later GOLOVIN and BERNARD moved to Moscow. GOLOVIN got himself a forged passport in the name of SENIN, settled in Moscow and got to work in the Gushosdor of the NKVD, where he worked at one of the sites as a foreman. (GOLOVIN‐SENIN arrested).
BERNARDʹs testimony revealed the members of the White Guard officersʹ organization: LVOV, a former prince, EFIMOVSKY, a former hussar officer, and brother GOLOVINA, a former white officer.
According to BERNARDʹs testimony, all three live in Kuibyshev. EFIMOVSKY works in the Kuibyshev branch of the oil trade. (GOLOVIN, LVOV and EFIMOVSKY are installed.).
BERNARD testified that since 1924 he has been conducting espionage work on assignments of French intelligence. For espionage in favor of France, he was recruited by a former adviser to the French embassy in Moscow, ANRIO.
On the instructions of ANRIO BERNARD, he received spy materials on the Red Army from BERNS, a former employee of the Red Army headquarters, who was later appointed military attaché in London
(BERNS died).
BERNARDʹs interrogation continues.
Head of the Secretariat of the NKVD of the USSR, senior major of state security (SHAPIRO)